


convince lucis that you're dating (and get an existential crisis while you're at it), a guide by prompto

by crosspolination



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2018-12-26 10:42:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12057315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crosspolination/pseuds/crosspolination
Summary: After a rumor is spread that Noctis and Prompto are dating, Noctis and Prompto decide to do the wisest thing anyone could do: go along with it and pretend they really are dating so the press leaves them alone.Prince of Lucis announces his new relationship with long-time best friend!Prompto stares down at the headline, with the included picture of him and Noctis smiling at each other and the extra note about how you could read all about this on page seven. Prompto looks up, grinning nervously.“So I guess we’re talking about that,” Prompto whistles lowly. “Uh… surprise?”“Cut the crap, Prompto,” Aranea says, slamming her hand on the newspaper and sliding it away from Prompto. Thank gods. “What’s going on?”“I’m… dating Noct?”“No you’re not,” Cor replies, crossing his arms.“Wow. Have a bit of faith in your son, will you? I’m totally dating Noct."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY EL PLEASE ACCEPT MY OFFERING AS UR BIRTHDAY PRESENT,,,,

Prompto got home after work as usual.  

He placed his bag on his sofa, and proceeded to step into the kitchen to make a sandwich. He deserves it — he worked extra hard at the gym today, and he’s done with three quarters of his assignments that are due in  _two weeks_ , so yeah, Prompto’s been responsible. Not to mention the fact he’s balancing out college  _and_ work, plus his normal life, so he’s really earned this fucking sandwich. 

Also, he’s been ignoring Cor and Aranea’s hard stare on him from the breakfast stool. 

So, it’s pretty weird that Cor and Aranea happen to be in the same place together when it’s not necessary: Prompto’s birthday, some rare Sundays where they spend eating together like the odd little family they are, Cor’s birthday, Aranea’s birthday, the holidays, and any rare off day the both of them have from work. Last time he checked, it wasn’t anyone’s birthday, it wasn’t a holiday, and it’s no one’s day off, so this is weird. 

Prompto turns around eventually, sandwich on his hands. “Soooo… you guys want one?” 

“Prompto,” Cor says, in  _that_ tone of voice like ‘young man, you are in a lot of trouble,’ or ‘son, I’m proud of you’. Cor’s voice just sounds calm all the time now that he thinks of it. “Is there anything you might want to tell us?” 

Prompto sits down on the breakfast stool, leaning over the table while he eats. Aranea and Cor’s glances are analyzing him, trying to see through him while he was doing a mundane action like eating. 

“Uh, I had a good day at work today,” Prompto speaks after he swallows, because Cor raised him to not speak when he’s eating. “Being a waiter isn’t all that bad, but like, the food makes me hungry, so that’s a con. But still, people are super nice and tip well,  _and_ I can sustain myself while you guys are gone, so…” 

“Is that so,” Aranea finally says, pursing her lips. “You seem to do plenty of stuff when we’re gone.” 

“Well,  _yeah_ ,” he states, matter-of-factly. “I’m twenty. I’m a college student. Partying and doing wild stuff while my family is away? That’s my  _jam_.” 

Cor seems to finally have enough with Prompto’s shitty evasive talk, because he slides the newspaper that Prompto’s seen fifty times today over to him, points at the headline, and stares pointedly at Prompto. 

“Does  _this_ also form part of your  _jam_?” Okay, so in any other situation hearing Cor say ‘jam’ in that context would’ve cracked up Prompto, but the headline and his adoptive dad’s stare is a bit too intimidating for him. Not to mention Aranea’s too.  

“Oh,” Prompto says, feeling the sweat beginning to form on his forehead when he reads the headline again. 

 **Prince of Lucis announces his new relationship with long-time best friend!**  

Prompto stares down at the headline, with the included picture of him and Noctis smiling at each other and the extra note about how you could  _read all about this on page seven_. Prompto looks up, grinning nervously. 

“So I guess we’re talking about that,” Prompto whistles lowly. “Uh… surprise?” 

“Cut the crap, Prompto,” Aranea says, slamming her hand on the newspaper and sliding it away from Prompto. Thank gods. “What’s going on?” 

“I’m… dating Noct?” 

“No you’re not,” Cor replies, crossing his arms. 

“Wow. Have a bit of faith in your son, will you? I’m totally dating Noct.” 

Cor arches an eyebrow. Aranea fixes him a glare. 

Prompto’s fine. He’s been through this a lot of times before, alright? Cor’s eyebrow raised slightly-too-high mixed with his hard eyes and Aranea’s glare got  _nothing_ on him anymore. He’s not fifteen anymore, so his Big Sis™ totally didn’t make him nervous, and he’s not a kid anymore, so his Stern Dad™ didn’t make him feel a thing. 

“Okay, so I’m not dating Noct,” Prompto spills out, because okay, they’re his family and family doesn’t keep secrets  _and they’re both really intimidating together, geez._  “It’s a long story.” 

“We got lots of time,” Aranea says. “Start speaking, kid.” 

“Sooooo,” he begins, because… really, where does he even begin? “It kind of happened accidentally.” 

“How so?” 

“Well, so I was hanging out with Noct as usual, right? Just chilling on the cafeteria, catching up on things because we hadn’t seen each other in like, two days.” 

“Such a long amount of time,” the sarcasm is obvious in her voice, but Prompto nods anyway. 

“I know!” he exclaims. “Anyways, we were eating, when one girl just kinda… comes up to Noct? And she’s like,  _hey Prince Noctis! What a surprise to see you here!_  Like she totally just struck a conversation with Noct.” 

Cor tilts his head slightly, but didn’t say anything. 

“So, she really just starts talking like she’s our best friend or something. Suddenly she’s straight-out asking Noct for his number so they could go on a date. So Noct, polite and super embarrassed because he doesn’t know how to handle flirting, rejects her as nicely as possible. But she didn’t really stop there.” 

“I have an idea as to where this is going,” Aranea states, rolling her eyes. 

Prompto continues anyways. “So Noct kinda starts panicking and says, ‘Sorry, but I have a boyfriend,’ and points to  _me_.” 

Cor seems as shocked as Cor could be. Which means: his eyebrows shoot up slightly and his mouth is kinda open, but he still looks deadly serious. Now he’s frowning, which means he’s probably confused or just remembered something from work. He’s a bit rusty when it comes to reading Cor’s expressions as he gets older – more wrinkles, harder to say what he’s thinking, etcetera. Aranea, however, sighs. 

“Yup, exactly where I thought this was going.” 

“And so, this girl just does a full 180° turn and turns out she’s a freaking reporter! And just like, starts interviewing Noct right there!” Prompto throws his arms up in the air. “And she’s been recording the whole thing, and just proceeds to take a pic of us, like? What the  _heck_?” 

“That’s an invasion of privacy,” Cor states seriously. “It’s a grave thing, especially if you’re invading the prince’s privacy.” 

“Yeah, that’s what  _I_ said, but apparently too late — apparently she had been following us for a good while and just needed Noct’s statement and a pic of us to post to her blog with who-knows-how-many-followers.” Prompto frowns. “Anyways, Noct still called the police and since he’s the prince they just came without hesitation, and now she’s being interrogated, I think.” 

“But the blog was still posted?” Aranea asks. 

“Yup,” he nods. “And it spread like wildfire. I’m surprised you guys didn’t find out earlier about this, it’s been going on since yesterday!” 

“I did. I called Cor.” 

“And I didn’t believe her until I found a newspaper,” Cor says, gesturing it. 

“Oh. Good. So…” Prompto swallows. “So, we talked about this rumor because everyone suddenly seemed to believe it, and we thought: the media wasn’t going to leave us alone if we said we weren’t dating, because they’re annoying, and so we just… confirmed it… and now we’re scheduling interviews with cool people in Insomnia to just talk this out. Like a press tour but like, for a relationship. Cool, right?” 

Aranea frowns slightly. “But… you’re not actually dating.” 

Prompto sighs deeply. “No, we’re not.” 

“Yikes,” she says. “We left for  _one_ day. How do you manage to do this?” 

He shrugs, trying his best to express  _I-have-no-idea_ with his shoulders.  

Cor puts a hand on his temple, summoning his best  _I am a tired father_ expression, which kinda makes Prompto laugh all the same. “Are you okay, Prompto?” 

Prompto grins. “Absolutely! Juuuust wonderful. Amazing, I might even say!” 

Cor keeps staring at him. 

“Fine, you win – I’m dying inside.” 

“Yeah, that sounds more like you,” he puts his hand on Prompto’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, son. Must be tough for you.” 

Prompto’s reminded of that one awkward time he actually had to sit down and ask Cor for romantic advice on how to deal with his feelings for Noctis, to which Cor had reacted with a perfectly blank face that said ‘ _Do I look like the romantic type to you?’_ before actually trying his hardest to offer Prompto good advice, and suddenly Prompto’s amazed at how much better he’s gotten at comforting him when it comes to romantic situations. 

(Besides, that one time he sat down to talk about his feelings ended up with Cor actually giving good advice, because he’s a good father, but also ended up with Cor ringing Aranea to come help  _the lovesick kid_. He’s not lovesick, thank you very much.) 

“With the whole you being head over heels for him it must be tough indeed,” Aranea sighs, and then she gives him a sympathetic smile. “Do you need help beating up his royal ass?” 

Cor gives her  _the look_. The  _No,_ _Aranea_ _, you don’t need to kick someone’s ass for_ _Prompto_  look.  

“What? He’s clueless about how Prompto feels. He probably won’t be clueless with my foot up his a—” 

“You  _don’t_ need to do that,” Prompto finally intervenes, “it’s fine, Aranea, really! I can totally handle this. I’m an  _adult_ , remember?” 

Aranea grimaces. “Are you really?” 

“Yes! I’m twenty!” 

“That really doesn’t mean anything.” 

“Wow, Aranea.” 

“What? I’m just being honest.” 

“I trust you,” Cor finally says, and Prompto really holds back the need to stick out his tongue to Aranea to prove his point. “Whatever you might need, we are here for you.” 

“Especially if you need someone to be kicked.” 

Cor nods. Prompto feels his chest being filled with love and fondness, so he just wraps the both of them in a hug. It’s kind of awkward because he’s about to fall down from the stool, but it’s okay because it’s his family and he loves them. 

“Ew, you’re sweaty,” Aranea says about a minute later. “Get off!” 

Prompto laughs and does as he’s told, promising to take a shower right now as Aranea and Cor do their thing. 

The  _real_ freak-out begins at the shower, when he realizes what he’s signed up for. He tries to not think about it, trying to let the water take away his thoughts, but it keeps coming back: he’s really got to sell to the public he’s in love and in a relationship with Noctis. 

Well, he thinks, he’s already in love! So, the rest’s got to be easy, right? The whole acting out a relationship is gonna be easy for him. He’s known to be a good actor among his friends. (That’s a lie.) Like, what’s he’s going to do anyway? Hold his hand, look at him lovingly in the eyes, hug him, and kiss him? 

Prompto blushes entirely and steps out of the shower quickly. He’s made a big mistake. A gigantic one, actually. He should’ve told Noctis to not go through with this idea, but of course he’s a lovesick puppy and didn’t waste an opportunity to help his best friend with whatever he needed. At that time, it didn’t  _seem_ like a big deal! When he agreed to be Noctis’ boyfriend he didn’t really think they were going to be acting it out in front of  _everyone_. 

 _Yay_ , he thinks ironically. 

After getting dressed, he checks his phone only to find messages from the man himself. Prompto opens them. 

 **Hey!** **So** **do you want me to pick you up tomorrow or are you coming by my place**  

Did Prompto pay attention to Iggy when he was telling them how many interviews they were going to do? 

 _come pick me_ _uuuuuup_ _i’m_   t _oo lazy to go!!!_  

 **Why am I not** **surprised**  

 _hey now!! anyways_ _i_ _kinda_ _forgot for how long we’re doing this?_  

 **Just like, three days. We just** **gotta** **travel to different places from insomnia so we** **gotta** **stay at some hotels**  

Oh, great, staying at hotels with Noctis outside the Crown City when pretending to be dating him. What could possibly go wrong?  

(The answer is everything, but Prompto doesn’t want to admit that.) 

 _sounds pretty cool, please reserve good hotels so_ _i_ _can sleep well_  

 **Oh yeah, how could I EVER forget your delicate body needs a good mattress**  

 _glad you_ _remember :P_  

 _I_ _gotta_ _sleep soon_ _noct_ _good night_  

 **Noooo** **. Keep me company.** **Im** **not sleepy**  

 _i_ _am_ _t_ _ho_ _? Goodnight_  

 **Prompto** **please come back**  

 **Prompto**  

And Prompto comes back anyway, because he really is a lovesick puppy for his best friend. 

  

Morning comes, and with the morning comes the good old anxiety that Prompto’s become so fond of. He wakes up sweating, which is probably not a good sign. This is really making him nervous, isn’t it? The prospect of fake-dating his best friend is getting into his head and reliving all those gorgeous, beautiful thoughts Prompto had managed to suppress: like the fact he hadn’t told his best friend he’s an MT. 

He was doing a splendid job of not thinking about the hypothetical situation that Noctis found out he was an MT. Niflheim might not be active anymore, but all the pain they caused still lived on in everyone: especially, in the way Noctis limped when he walked for too long. It lived in the way Iggy would tense up whenever someone brought up Noctis’ time in a coma, and in the way Gladio would clench his fists whenever someone mentioned Niflheim’s attack on Insomnia, reminding him of his father’s injuries and the people he failed to protect. 

He didn’t tell them — he didn’t tell Noctis  _then_ that he was an MT — what would he even do if he found out now?  

If he brought his hands to kiss Prompto’s, then he’d surely notice the black ink on his wrist, and he would take off his wristband,  _and_ … 

Prompto groans. It’s too early for the anxiety to come at him like this. He’ll deal with these thoughts later. 

Later. 

He drags himself out of bed and starts his day. 

  

“Morning, shortcake,” Aranea says when he steps in. “How are you?” 

“Tired,” he yawns. “Noct kept me up until 2 AM.” 

Aranea grimaces. “I don’t wanna know the details of your sexting.” 

“We  ** _didn’t_** —” Aranea has the audacity to laugh at his red face. “You’re the worst, Aranea!” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever—breakfast is done.” 

He’s still a bit red, but he takes his plate anyways. “Thanks. Where’s Cor?” 

“Had to leave early for business at the Citadel, but wanted me to let you know you can call him if the press starts bothering you outside your scheduled interviews hours.” 

Prompto smiles a little. “That’s actually really sweet of him.” 

“You know he’s probably going to beat up anyone who tries to harass you for information about what you do with His Brattiness, right?” 

“Yup. As I said: really sweet of him,” he laughs. “Gods. I don’t think I’m ready for the interviews.” 

Aranea sits down next to him on the stool and pats him on his back. “Come on, you can do it. What happened to the whole ‘I’m a grown-up’ speech?”  

“Changed my mind,” Prompto groans. “I am not a grown up. I’m like, ten years old.” 

“Glad we’re on the same page about that,” Aranea laughs, but quickly sobers up. “Alright. Tell me what’s bothering you.” 

Prompto gulps, suddenly thinking about how stupid his problem will become once he says it out loud. So he doesn’t say it. He removes the wristband and shows the barcode to Aranea, and suddenly all trace of playfulness is gone from her. “What’s wrong with your barcode? Is it hurting you?” 

“No, no, I’m fine! I’m just…” he licks his lips. “Scared. What if the press finds out? What if  _Noct_ and the others find out? I…” 

“Nothing’s going to happen if your friends find out,” Aranea says calmly. “You know they love you no matter what.” 

Prompto stares down at the barcode, wondering just how far his friends’ love would go – would they be willing to overlook the fact Prompto was literally made to make hurt them? Even if it’s not who he is, it’s… he can’t change where he’s from. He can’t change what he was meant to do. He’s still from Niflheim and still is nothing but a clone, and that’s something pretty damn hard to overlook. 

Aranea pokes his forehead firmly. “Hey, you’re getting that lost look again,” she sounds worried. Prompto doesn’t want to worry her with his stupid issues. “Do I gotta remind you I’m from Niflheim too, and your friends still like me, and  _forgave me_ for the things I did to them? I’m not going to say this again, even less in front of them, but – they got heart, kid. You’re their best friend. You’ve never done anything bad to them – they’re not going to hate you.” 

“But you’re  _human_ ,” Prompto says weakly. “Of course they’d forgive you but – how would anyone forgive me—” 

She immediately puts her hand on his wrist, squeezing tight. “Don’t you dare tell me you’re not human, because you  _are_. Prompto, just last week I saw you crying over dog videos.” 

Prompto laughs slightly. “You know; he was just so cute trying to swim…” 

“That’s what I mean! You got your big heart  _beating_ and making you feel silly things for your best friend. Now, do you need me to say more sappy words, or do you want me to beat you up so you can confirm you’re human?” 

“No, thanks, I’m good!” Prompto exclaims immediately. “I’m human, alright.” They both share a laugh at this. Aranea ruffles his hair. “Thank you, Aranea. This…means a lot.” 

“I’m here whenever you need me,” she says, sighing contentedly. There is a knock on the door, and Aranea leaves to check up on who it is. 

He hears Noctis’ familiar voice greeting Aranea and making small talk with her, and suddenly he’s snapped back into the other reality: the one where he’s going to be interviewed about his relationship with Noctis himself and will require a lot of acting on his part.  

“Hey, Prompto!” Noctis greets, and it’s strange because Prompto is about to explode thanks to his nerves but seeing him is really… soothing? Noctis is soothing. “You’re ready?” 

“I’m not even done with breakfast, dude,” Prompto laughs, gesturing to his breakfast. “Give me like, ten minutes, and I’ll be ready to go!” 

Aranea sighs as she closes the door behind her. “So, Highness, for how long are you taking my brother away?” 

Noctis sits down on the stool next to Prompto. “Just a few days, I promise,” Aranea gives him a long look. “ _I promise_ ,” he repeats.  

“And all we’re doing are interviews, right? Nothing weird or fancy going on, like… I dunno… your dad showing up and giving me his blessing or some shit.” 

Nocits laughs a little at Prompto’s sentence. It’s good that he’s laughing, but honestly, that’s a genuine fear. He can totally imagine it – King Regis coming down from the stairs in all his mighty strength and presence, ready to give Prompto a talk about how if he hurts his son his body won’t be found and then proceed to give him his blessing. It is an oddly vivid illusion and Prompto might’ve pictured it one too many times. 

“No, not at all. Just interviews. Ignis already has it all under control — we’re just doing like… three big interviews and then we get a break. And luckily, everyone will leave us alone.” 

“If they don’t, you know who to call to get ass kicked.” 

Noctis grins at Aranea. “You know? Gladio said the same thing. I’m thinking we’ll be fine.” Noctis looks at Prompto, giving him what seems to be a little shy smile. Prompto wants to die looking at it but it’s fine. “What do you think?” 

“Yeah, of course. Interviews are like, ten minutes long. Nothing could go wrong! It’s you and me we’re talking about!”  

Noctis smiles again, and what a blessed day it is today!  

“You’re right. Guess I’m just a little worried,” Noctis says. Prompto holds back from saying,  _Buddy, if only you knew how_ ** _I_** _feel_. 

They keep making small talk and once Prompto’s done with breakfast, he changes quickly out of his pajamas and now he’s ready to go.  

Aranea stops him before he goes away. “You’re forgetting something.” 

Prompto looks at her strangely before realization hits him, and he leans forward to give her a bear hug. “Better?” 

“Meh, you could hug better,” she says, patting his head. “Good luck out there.” 

“Thanks, Aranea. I’ll let you and Cor know anything, okay?” 

“Okay,” She breaks the hug and pushes him towards Noctis. “Now go have fun!” 

He doubted he’d have fun, but still went with Noctis anyway. 

 

“So, technically we’re only having  _three_ interviews, right?” Prompto asks once he gets on the passenger seat. “Not like, thirty in one day.” 

“Just three,” Noctis nods. “It’s not like we’re getting married. It’s not that much of a big deal, so three interviews will suffice.” 

“Not that much of a big deal?” Prompto repeats, pointedly ignoring the getting married part, because his brain will probably not handle it. “Then why are we doing the interviews?” 

“To avoid getting pestered by the media, obviously,” Noctis looks at him briefly and then puts his eyes back on the road. “Are you okay, Prompto?” 

“Just… nervous. I’m not the best actor there is.” 

Noctis puts a hand on his thigh which is probably meant to be a comforting hand, but it sends Prompto’s heart into overdrive. 

“I’m nervous too,” Noctis confesses quietly, removing the hand from his thigh, and Prompto kind of misses the touch now. “I’m really scared they’re not gonna leave us alone afterwards or they’re gonna be super invasive.” 

“Well, hey, if they  _do_ — we have like four people ready to beat them up.” 

Noctis grins a little. “Cor too?” 

“Absolutely,” Prompto says. “I’m his precious boy!” 

“I have  _never_ heard Cor refer to you as his precious boy.” 

“Just because you don’t hear it doesn’t  _mean_ he doesn’t think that,” he scoffs. “Plus, he once got me a mug that said  _best son ever_ , so I think that proves my point!” 

“That’s actually really sweet of him. It’s weird to think of Cor the Immortal to be a softie with his son.” 

Prompto smiles. “Well, he’s like that, y’know. Back to our point — I feel unprepared for interviews. Is there anything I need to know about you?” 

Noctis states seriously, “I have three nipples.” 

“What? Do you actually? No, wait—” Prompto turns his head towards him immediately, “I’ve seen you shirtless! You have two nipples!” 

His best friend has the audacity to laugh. “You  _really_ believed that for one second.” 

Prompto laughs too. Maybe the interviews won’t be that hard if they’re making each other laugh like this. 

 

 **INTERVIEW ONE: BEGIN**  

Prompto feels like he’s accidentally entering a boss battle in a videogame when he’s too underleved and forgot to buy potions because he  _swore_ he had a million of them,  _and_ forgot when was the last time he saved. It’s the same desperation right there. Iggy has made sure his suit is all perfectly put on, and Prompto’s glad Iggy remembered he hates ties, because he’s not making him wear one. Still, it’s not his appearance he’s freaking out about, it’s the fact  _he’s walking in on live television to be interviewed_. 

Noctis holds his hand, squeezing it, and it’s both comforting and nerve-wracking. They walk in after the host announces their names, and Prompto’s sure his head is just buzzing. There is a police siren going on inside his head like he’s definitely not ready for this moment, and yet he’s still nervously waving at everyone and clutching Noctis’ hand like his life depends on it. After the audience sits down and the host takes her place again, he and Noctis sit down on the shared sofa. 

Noctis sits a bit too close to him. He puts his arm around Prompto, and okay, this is happening apparently. Maybe instead of theorizing how a third nipple would affect someone, he should’ve asked what boundaries they would respect when it comes to PDA. It’s fine, though. Prompto’s fine. He squeezes Noctis’ hand to let him know it’s fine. 

“It is the biggest honor to have you both here,” the host begins, smiling. Prompto can’t remember her name even though he’s seen this woman on the TV a million times before. “How are you two on this fine evening?” 

“Good!” Prompto squeaks out. He really hopes no one is noticing how nervous he is, but he guesses he failed. 

“We’re happy to be here,” Noctis says, and Prompto can tell he’s equally nervous. His voice has a funny tone to it — he’s using his  _prince_ voice, and he’s probably way more used to being interrogated with cameras than Prompto, but he can still feel his muscles tensed and the way his leg bounces a little. “How are you?” 

“I’m feeling  _wonderful_ ,” the interviewer says. She leans a bit over her desk, “and I bet you guys are too after releasing that news to everybody. What took you guys so long?” 

Noctis seems to blank out for a second. Fuck, they really should’ve talked about what they should’ve done in these interviews. Prompto steps in quickly. 

“Ah, it was scary for me,” he says. Diverting the blame towards him instead of Noctis seems like a good choice. “I didn’t want to be in the spotlight so suddenly, y’know? This whole situation was an unexpected push forward.” 

“How does that make you feel?” 

“…Exposed, I guess,” he shrugs as best he can when Noctis has his arm around him. “I… I mean, I wanted to take my time to tell people, of course. So this was… unexpected. I really feel exposed.” 

“Me too,” quips in Noctis, who seems to have recovered from the initial blankness and now is full-on prince mode. “I suppose it’s good that people  _know_ where my interests lie now, but — it still was a huge invasion of privacy.” 

The interviewer hums. “Absolutely agreed. It’s rather disgusting that you were forced into the spotlight, but — you got to admit, it’s nice that we get to see what a lovely couple you guys are!” 

The whole audience coos at them, which makes Noctis grin at Prompto and stare at him lovingly, which  _yeah_ , it makes Prompto blush entirely. He’s really damn good at acting. It’s incredible how much Noctis can change when he steps in  _prince mode_. Prompto steps it up a little too — he pokes Noctis’ cheek playfully and now he’s the one blushing. 

Feels good to have the upper hand. The interviewer laughs. 

“That’s what I’m talking about!” she grins. “Would you be willing to tell us more about you two? When did you start dating?” 

“End of high school,” Noctis says immediately. “I asked him out for prom.” 

Prompto gives him a look. Okay, they gotta build up the story. Entertain the public so they will leave them alone afterwards. So he gives it a little spin. “No you didn’t.” 

“Uh? I clearly remember doing that.” 

“You  _didn’t_ ask me out. You showed up in front of my house, picked me up, took me to the dance, and somewhere in the night you just kissed me,” he says, because that’s what happened on actual prom day — except they didn’t kiss. Though Prompto wishes they had. “You’re not exactly… romantic, Noct!” 

Noctis frowns. “I  _am_. I take you to candlelit dinners.” 

“It’s not dinner, it’s pizza you order from the place in front of your house and we’re too lazy to go buy, so you ask for a delivery.” 

The interviewer laughs loudly. She grins at them, “It’s nice to know the prince is a human being who doesn’t want to walk to the pizzeria.” 

That’s what he’s going for. People seeing Noctis as a person and not as a prince — good approach. He mentally pats himself in the back. 

“It’s just too far away,” Noctis says, and it makes everyone laugh. “I cannot believe my own boyfriend is exposing me in live television.” 

“I’m all about honesty, baby,” the people laugh again. Okay, it’s not too bad. Prompto’s doing well.  

The interviewer asks, “How do you guys deal with the rumors spread about His Highness? I’m pretty sure you both have read about Prince Noctis’ millions of girlfriends. Does it ever get you guys in a fight, or…?” 

Yeah, Prompto’s not fond of those rumors. They’re annoying as fuck. But he’s never fought with Noctis about them. 

“We don’t pay attention to them,” Noctis replies. “Prompto knows he’s the only one I love.” 

 _Love_ , huh? Fuck. Prompto’s heart starts beating so fast it almost escapes his body. He tries to play it cool, tries to remember this is an act, but the smile Noctis gives him is so  _convincing_ , he lets himself have a lovesick expression towards him. Prompto’s really not acting anymore. 

“Plus he only spends time with me. I’m his only friend.” Prompto adds to make them laugh, because he’s really gotta remind himself they’re only friends. “Besides, I don’t think we’ve ever fought?” 

“You’re right,” he hums. “We’ve never had a fight. That’s nice.” 

“You guys are lovebirds,” the interviewer says, chuckling. “Well, in any case, I am beyond glad to see you two being so happy. I apologize for the circumstances you were put to be here, but it was an honor to talk to you two. Please give it up for our guests!” 

That was all? Prompto wonders if it’s been ten minutes already. Hell, he doesn’t even know how much time has passed, but before he knows it he’s shaking hands with the woman and leaving backstage to where Ignis and Gladio are waiting. 

Ignis has a relieved smile when they arrive. “That went surprisingly well.” 

“Yeah, you guys had us worried sick.” Gladio grins proudly at them, “Look at you both now — you don’t even need our help.” 

“See? We’re big boys now,” Noctis says. “Did we really do okay?” 

“Yes,” Ignis confirms. “I am very proud — you did not seem to lose your calm at any points during the interview. Good on you both.” 

Prompto almost laughs. Yeah, he lost his chill many times, okay. But at least not externally. Prompto looks down at the hand Noctis is still holding. Nervously, he puts it up, and smiles. “We did it!” 

 

A few hours later, they both arrive to the hotel (that of  _course_ they gotta share a room because “it’s gonna be suspicious as fuck if they sleep in different rooms”) and Prompto finally has time to put on comfortable clothes and throw himself on the bed. 

Noctis grins as he stares down at him. “Comfortable?” 

“Mmm,” Prompto hums, burying his face on the pillow. “It’s so soft, Noct. Best bed I’ve ever been on.” 

Noctis is undressing in front of him, which Prompto replies by burying his face further into his pillow. Not that he’s ever seen Noctis half-naked, because he has, it’s just —  _well_! It’s not like he’s not panicking over his feelings for Noctis going intensifying today! 

“Well, you better make me some space ‘cause we only have one bed,” Noctis says, sitting down on one side of the bed. Great. Now they gotta  _share_ the bed. Wonderful. “Unless you’d want me to sleep on the floor.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Prompto says, scooting over and now lying on his back. Noctis has his pajamas on, thank gods. “Can you call us some dinner?” 

“Is pizza okay?” 

“Sounds perfect.” 

As Noctis makes the order (he already knows what Prompto wants anyway), Prompto decides to catch up on his texts. He hasn’t touched his phone since entering the TV station. 

Aranea’s texted him. 

 **Nice TV debut, shortcake! Me and Cor are proud.**  

She sent a pic of her and Cor sitting on the sofa with popcorn in the middle of them. Prompto laughs. He holds his phone up and sends a selfie of him on bed and Noctis sitting on it, talking on the phone, but still making a peace sign for the photo. 

 _thank_ _you guys_ _!!!_ _noct_ _says hi. he’s actually ordering pizza but the peace sign means hi. love you two <3_ 

Aranea sent back a heart. And now, because he’s anxious as fuck, he decides to check the Internet for whatever they might’ve said about them, and turns out: it wasn’t bad at all. Everybody so far doesn’t seem to hate Prompto, and in all the screencaps there are on Twitter his barcode is nowhere to be seen. 

That’s a relief. 

He spends ten minutes solidly zooming in all pics to see if there was any barcode slip up while Noctis played King’s Knight until the pizza arrived. Thank gods, because Prompto is sure if he spent any more time looking at the pictures, he was going to flip.  

“Our next interview is tomorrow,” Noctis says after he swallows. “I think this one is a less serious one.” 

“Oh? How so?” 

“I think we’re literally only going to play games,” he explains. “You know, like… games to know about us and stuff.” 

“I don’t know, but that sounds better than being interrogated anyways,” he says. “And after that?” 

“An interview with a radio station. They sound like pretty serious guys, so… guess that one is a good one to finish. You okay, though?” 

“Me? Yeah, I’m fine,” Prompto nodded. “It’s fun. It’s cool. I’m having fun!” 

“You sound nervous.” 

“Okay, so maybe I’m a little nervous,” he grins. “But it really is fine. What about you?" 

“Anxious, mostly,” he suddenly looks really tired. He rests his back against the bed’s headboard, lowering his slice of pizza. “My dad is… really unhappy about this.” 

Prompto’s heart squeezes in panic a little. “What do you mean?” 

“He asked me if I don’t trust him anymore or if he’s been too distant because the press found out about my boyfriend before he did,” Noctis sighs. “I haven’t had the time to explain him what’s really going on, but… I don’t want him to think I don’t trust him, or to think I’m being an ass because he works a lot.” 

“I see,” Prompto sighs internally. Gods. He really needs to stop worrying about the barcode, but that’s a bit impossible. “Hey, after this is all over maybe we can go talk to your dad? Explain the whole thing to him?” 

“Would you join me?” 

Oh, he said  _we_ , didn’t he? Prompto smiles nervously. 

“Sure!” he replies. “Your dad scares me but I don’t want him to have any issues with you.” 

“Thanks, Prompto,” he says sincerely. “I owe you big time after this is over.” 

“Pfft, it’s nothing!” 

“No, no, really. I… uh,” he stops for a second. “I feel really bad for making you do this. Aranea and  Cor are free right now, and I bet you’d rather spend time with them than being stuck with me here.” 

Prompto puts a hand on his shoulder.  

“Noct,” he begins, “it’s okay! Really! I have plenty of time to spend with Cor and Aranea, you know? Plus, I would never pass up an opportunity to hang out with you!” 

Oh, geez. Was that too real? Was that not too platonic? Noctis leans into his touch slightly and smiles a little. “Me neither. Thank you again, Prompto.” 

“Anytime, dude!” 

After the little heart-to-heart, Noctis scoots a bit closer to Prompto. He doesn’t mention it. Rounds of King’s Knight and lazy planning for the next few days are over, Noctis falls asleep next to him. Prompto looks at him and takes in count his eyelashes, his lips, his moles, and  _Noctis_ as a whole— 

Goddamn. He’s really in love with him, isn’t he? 

  

 **INTERVIEW TWO: BEGIN**  

Prompto is beyond glad this interview is on the afternoon and without an audience. Apparently, it’s going up on a YouTube channel, so it’s just them, the interviewer, and all the camera people. Ignis tells them they can dress however they want for this interview, so Prompto’s a bit glad to only be on jeans and plaid shirts. Noctis is still wearing all black, his shirt all buttoned up except  _one_ on his neck which is driving Prompto insane. Nobody should look that good, ever. He’s suing Noctis after this. 

After a quick introduction, the interviewer gets into the rules of the game they were going to play. 

“The game is pretty simple,” he explains, extending them a little white board with a pen. “We are going to ask questions about how well you know your partner. You’re gonna write it down there without letting the other person see, and then we reveal the answers. Whoever gets a wrong answer, gets pied on the face.” 

Prompto splutters out a laugh. “Really?! I get to pie Noct?” 

“Hey!” Noctis says in mock-offense. “I’m gonna pie  _you_ , you nerd.” 

“We’ll see who pies who,” intervenes the man, laughing. “You guys ready?” 

“Ready!” 

“Let’s start with an easy one: what are each other’s favorite colors?” 

Prompto quickly scribbles down  _yellow_. It’s basically what Noctis uses the most, always – back in school, if he used a colored pen, it would always be yellow. Yellow for the titles, black pens for the content. Noctis finishes his answer as soon as Prompto does. 

“Turn it over!” 

They both do, and Prompto leans in to see Noctis’ answer.  _Blue_. Okay, so he was paying attention whenever Prompto rambled about how much he loves that color. Mostly it’s because Noctis’ eyes are a nice blue. Like, gray-blue. He’s cheesy, alright. 

“Off to a great start,” the interviewer grins. “What is your partner’s favorite past-time activity?” 

Okay, so does he write  _fishing_ here or does he write videogames? Both are technically correct, so Prompto writes down both of them. After they turn it over, Noctis had written ‘photography’ on his board. Easy one. 

Noctis laughs when he sees his answer. “Both are correct.” 

“Yeah! That’s what I thought! Even if fishing is a weird hobbie to have.” 

“It’s not  _weird_ , it’s relaxing!” 

“Whatever you say, buddy,” Prompto grins smugly. “What’s next?” 

The interviewer laughs a little. “Each other’s pet peeves?” 

Prompto chuckles when he’s writing his answer.  _Chewing loudly_. Truth be told, he’s gotten better at being a quiet chewer, but back when he first befriended Noctis, he could literally see the blood drain from his face whenever he had lunch with Prompto.  

Noctis’ board says, “leaving clothes on the floor.” 

“ _Gods_ ,” Prompto groans, “you have  _no_ idea how many clothes Noct leaves on the floor! It’s so awful! Whenever he’s trying on clothes you can literally see a trail of t-shirts or pants from the bathroom to the bedroom! Literally the worst person to live with!” 

“It’s not intentional!” Noctis replies. “I just… don’t realize I’m making a mess. Besides, you chew loudly and I don’t complain.” 

“ _Anymore_. You don’t complain anymore because I don’t chew loudly now. When will you stop leaving your clothes on the floor for me, huh?” 

“You ask too much, love,” Noctis laughs, and then seems to catch up with what he said, because he stares at Prompto wide-eyed. 

 _Love_. Holy fuck. Prompto gets beyond red. 

“You guys are cute,” the interviewer says, completely unaware of Prompto’s inner meltdown and Noctis’ freakout. “What about favorite movie?” 

Prompto snaps out of his meltdown to quickly scribble  _Last Samurai: The Night of the Fallen Ones_. Literally the best movie ever created, the best movie ever known to mankind, and Noctis’ favorite, of course. 

Noctis turns around his board to reveal the same answer. 

“Aw! You both have the same favorite movie?” 

“No,” Noctis shakes his head. “That’s not my favorite movie.” 

Prompto stares at Noctis, shocked. “What are you talking about? We watch this all the time!” 

“You’re wrong –  _you_ make me watch it with you all the time. My favorite movie is  _Finding Nemo_ , of course.” 

He gasps. “Our relationship has literally been built in a  _lie_. How could you, Noct?” 

Noctis smirks smugly. “It’s whatever – time to get pied, Prom.” 

Oh no. 

Nobody has time to blink before Prompto feels  _cream_ hit his face. Noctis spins the plate on a circle, getting the cream everywhere. Noctis is laughing delightfully, and had it not been a gorgeous sound to Prompto’s ears, he would’ve hit him. 

Okay, so he hit him anyway. “You’re the worst!” Prompto complains while the whole team starts laughing. “I can’t believe you!” 

Noctis brings up his finger to his cheek, wiping off some cream and licking it off. “Hey, your face tastes pretty good.” 

Prompto blushes immensely. He’s glad he has cream on his face and that he’s handed a towel so nobody can see him as red as a tomato. The interview is probably the best interview Prompto’s ever had (not that he’s had that many). He pied Noctis when he got a question wrong: no, his favorite Pokemon is not Pikachu, it’s Lapras. Anybody would know that, geez. He laughs incredibly hard when he sees Noctis’ face all white. 

“Not so fun anymore, right?” he says, and he doesn’t know what overtakes him, but he leans in to press a kiss to his creamed cheek. “Cheer up, Noct!” 

 _Fuck_ he’s going to go into cardiac arrest like this. Noctis looks dumbfounded, bringing up his hand to touch his cheek, only to get his hand filled with cream too. “Ew!” 

Prompto laughs harder. The next questions they get it all correct, until the last one, where Noctis gets pied again.  

“Noct, buddy, c’mon – I thought I made myself clear a million times: my childhood crush was Crash Bandicoot! I said I was super embarrassed of it!” 

Noctis rolls his eyes. Or at least that’s what it looks like – the cream makes it hard to see. “Well,  _sorry_ that I suppressed the memories of when you confessed you were a furry.” 

“I’m  _not_ a furry!” 

“Dude… Crash Bandicoot? You’re kind of a furry.” 

Prompto looks at the interviewer like,  _you see what I_ _gotta_ _put up with?_ He sighs. “You’re the worst boyfriend in the world.” 

“You love me, though, right?” 

Maybe it’s not the perfect time to look at Noctis, all pied up, and think:  _gods I’ve never loved someone more than you_. 

“I do,” he says, and he’s not acting at all. “Sadly, I really do!” 

Noctis lightly shoves him off, before dragging him closer and pecking him on his lips. What the fuck. Prompto gets his face filled with pie, too, and the whole team laughs again, signaling the end of the interview. They hand Prompto and Noctis towels again, and Prompto can’t stop fucking thinking about it. 

A peck. He really kissed him. They really fucking kissed, man. Noctis seems a bit shy now, giving Prompto glances and looking away quickly when Prompto glances back. Oh, gods. Ohhh, gods. Maybe he’s just regretting that? After all, they never actually agreed on whether kissing was okay or off limits. Oh gods. 

They’re both informed afterwards that the interview is probably going to be up in a few hours if they want to check it out, and after that all they have to do is wait for Ignis to pick them up to take them to the hotel. Noctis takes him to a café, and the silence that follows them is quite awkward. He’s never been in an awkward silence with Noctis before, and he doesn’t know what to do. 

Prompto stops before they enter the café. “Noct?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I, uh, about what happened at the interview…” 

“Sorry about that,” Noctis swallows. “Are you mad?” 

Prompto wants to ask,  _why did you do it_? But if he hears the answer ( _‘I did it for the cameras,’_ ) it’s just going to cause him unnecessary pain, so he shakes his head. “No, I’m not. Just maybe give me a little warning next time. You really scared the crap out of me!” 

Noctis grins sheepishly. “Sorry about that,” he says. “Are we good?” 

“Totally,” Prompto replies. “Come on, let’s get that coffee.” 

  

Later, when they’re back at the hotel watching TV, Aranea facetimes him.  

“ _Hey, sorry for calling without previous warning, but get this: Cor’s discovered YouTube,_ ” Aranea speaks excitedly. 

Prompto laughs a little. “It’s okay! I thought Cor already knew about YouTube, though?” 

Noctis seems a bit amused by the conversation, as he’s joining Prompto on the bed to get involved too. 

“ _Yeah, but never actually used it! This is literally the best day of my life. Look at him_ ,” she angles the camera to where Cor is, watching a video on the big screen with some rock band playing. “ _I’ve never seen him this happy_.” 

On the video, a kid jumps on stage and the band, instead of freaking out, let him play with them for a song. Cor speaks, “ _That’s me_.” 

Noctis quirks his eyebrows. “I can’t tell whether he’s actually saying it’s him, or Cor has caught up with our type of slang when we say  _‘that’s me_.’ 

Cor turns around when he hears Noctis, apparently now aware of his presence. “ _No, Highness, it’s not any type of weird slang. That is actually me. I ran away after finishing a mission just to see this band_ ,” he actually looks proud of himself. “ _Reggie and the rest had absolutely no idea where I was_.” 

“You ran away from your friends to see a band?!” Prompto laughs incredulously. “You are an  _actual_ rebel! You literally ran away from the Crownsguard!” 

Aranea laughs too. “ _Didn’t know you had it in you, Marshal_.” 

“ _I was a wild kid back then_.” 

“I can’t believe Cor the Immortal was a troublemaker and probably pissed off my dad,” Noctis laughs too. “That’s so cool.” 

Cor chuckles, “ _Half of the gray hairs your father has_ _were_ _probably caused by me, Highness. The rest of them are all you.”_  

“ **Hey** ,” Noctis says in mock-offense. “Rude.” 

Prompto laughs again. They keep chatting for over an hour until Noctis reminds them they need to get up early tomorrow for their final interview. They hang up on Cor and Aranea, and Noctis plops back on the bed, yawning.  

“Man, Cor really was a wild kid,” Noctis comments. “Probably wilder than you and me together.” 

“Buddy, we’re not exactly very  _wild_ to begin with.” 

“You’re right.” Noctis yawns again. “Can I be sappy for a moment?” 

“…Sure?” 

“Glad we’re like… close enough that I can facetime your family,” his smile is a lazy one, but still sincere. “I just feel like we know each other better than anyone else. I’m glad… you’re my best friend.” 

Prompto’s speechless. Not only Noctis got sappy on him, he just…  _We know each other better than anyone else_. He thinks of the barcode, and… Noctis just really deserves to know. However, his eyes are already closed when Prompto thinks of a reply, and moments later he’s snoring softly. 

Prompto isn’t going to sleep tonight, huh. 

  

 **FINAL INTERVIEW: thank gods it’s over**  

It’s a breakfast radio show. Prompto literally just wants to sleep, and he guesses Noctis wants too. He knows it’s bad and he should definitely be more awake than right now, but he didn’t sleep much and he’s really not bringing himself to care about the interview that much. They’re not asking any important questions so far, so Prompto can leave all the answering for Noctis, until…  

“Do you think Mr. Leonis here will be able to run the country after you both get married?” asks the radio host bluntly. Prompto chokes on air. 

“Sorry, what?” Prompto says when he recovers. 

“Well, you know,” he starts, “when it was rumored Lady Lunafreya and Prince Noctis would get married, we all knew Lady Lunafreya was going to be an amazing queen. We just want to know how safe our country will be in your hands, Mr. Leonis.” 

“I…” Prompto licks his lips. What the fuck. “I’m…” 

“We haven’t discussed these matters yet,” Noctis quickly mends up, putting a hand over Prompto’s. “Rest assured that whatever we do, it’ll be a good decision for us and for the country.” 

It seems to satisfy the radio host, but  _boy_ , Prompto feels like he’s screaming and literally will not stop screaming until he dies. Of course. How could he not think of  _that_? All those years, and he never really thought of what it would mean to be on a relationship with Noctis – he really never thought about how Noctis was going to need someone equal to him; someone who understood about royalty and carrying a country and supporting the King. Prompto was… a commoner. A clone. What would he know about keeping a country safe, even worse,  _ruling_ over it? Putting things in that perspective… gods.  

His thing with Noctis was never going to happen, and yet, he still let himself have a bit of hope. How much of an idiot can he be?  

The interview is done shortly after, and Prompto leaves as quickly as possible with Noctis. 

“Prompto, you okay? You seem really accelerated.” He says, stopping Prompto by grabbing his arm. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. I didn’t get much sleep last night,” he explains, “so I’m kind of desperate to get home and sleep. Are we done, Noct?” 

“We are,” he frowns a little. “Aren’t you going to wait for Iggy to drive us home?” 

“Nah, I’ll be taking the train, no big deal,” he gets away from Noctis’ grip. “I’ll text you when I get home, okay?” 

Noctis is still frowning, but nods anyway. “Okay. See you soon.” 

Prompto practically runs to the train station, gets on it, and lets his head fall against the train’s window. This is so ridiculous. He’s so ridiculous. Why is he getting sad now? He should’ve known that having a relationship with Noctis was not going to be possible. They’re best friends, not lovers, no matter what the press believed now. Nobody was going to ask them about it anymore, anyways, so… what’s the fucking point? 

He can’t wait to get home and sleep this off. 

  

He opens the door to his house and storms past Cor and Aranea, throws himself on the bed, and gets taken by sleep. 

A few hours later, he emerges to find Cor sitting on the sofa drinking coffee. He looks at Prompto when he steps on the lounge, and silently motions him to take a seat too. Aranea soon joins them, silently, like they know Prompto’s going to spill out the truth no matter what. Prompto sits down, and he only lasts one minute before he breaks down and starts talking. 

“I’m useless,” he says, sighing heavily.  

Aranea is immediately next to him. Cor also gets up to sit on his other side. 

“I really am nothing but a clone,” he laughs humorlessly, “and I just don’t mean this to get sympathy words. I realized it today in the interview. What does a  _Nif_ know about ruling a country? What does an MT know about royalty? I’m…” he sighs. “I don’t know anything.”  

Cor puts an arm around him and drags him to his chest. There is something so comforting about this action that makes Prompto want to cry, but he holds back the tears. Although, Aranea sits closer to them, brushing her hand on Prompto’s hair, so now he’s probably going to start crying. 

“I want you to listen to me, Prompto, because I’m only saying this once.” Cor makes a pause as if to make sure Prompto’s listening. “You are the exact opposite of everything you said. When I rescued you, I did not think I was rescuing a clone, or a  _Nif_. I only thought I was rescuing a child. I gave you my last name. You are not defined by your past. You are not defined by whatever lab notes we found in Niflheim. Do you know what defines you?” 

“What?” 

“ _You_ define yourself. What’s your name?” 

“Prompto.” 

“Exactly. You’re not what Niflheim says you are. You are Prompto, and you don’t know about ruling a country – but does the prince know either?” 

Prompto chuckles a little. “No, not really.” 

“Prince Noctis knows how to take a nap better than he knows how to maintain a country’s economy,” Aranea says, laughing. “Cor’s right, kid. Not knowing things is part of life. Makes you human. Remember what I said like, two days ago? I could still beat you up if you need to prove yourself.” 

He sniffs. “I think I’m fine without that, thanks.” Quietly, he adds, “So it’s… okay? I’m okay?” 

“Well, honestly? You kinda look like shit, shortcake,” she snorts. “But yeah, you’re okay. You got us here any time you need reassurance, right, Cor?” 

Cor nods. Prompto makes himself more comfortable until he’s sandwiched on the sofa in the middle of Aranea and Cor’s arms. “Thank you guys. I love you.” 

“We do too,” Aranea replies. Cor pats him on his head. “You feeling better? Wanna cry for a little while and then go after prince charmless to settle things between you two?” 

“Later,” Prompto affirms. And he will. “Right now I kinda just wanna watch videos of Cor breaking into concerts.” 

Cor chuckles, “There are actually more than I can remember, let’s see…” 

  

  

 **CONFESSION TIME:** **kinda** **beginning oh gods no**  

 _Later_ arrives as promised, so he goes to Noctis’ apartment after sending him a text. He’s not as nervous as he thought he’d be. Maybe because Cor and Aranea were right, and maybe because he’s letting himself be foolish and have a bit of hope that Noctis won’t get mad once Prompto tells him what’s going on with him. 

Noctis opens the door, giving him what seems to be a relieved smile. “Prompto.” 

“Hey, Noct. Can we talk?”  

Noctis immediately steps out of the way to let him in. 

After a while he makes himself comfortable, he takes a deep breath. “After I tell you this, things between us might be really different, so I hope you’re ready.” 

“I’m a bit scared now, but go on.” 

Here goes nothing. Prompto takes off his wristband, showing the black ink against his skin, the perfectly outlined barcode making itself be present. Noctis’ eyes widen, and Prompto takes a deep breath. 

“I’m an MT,” he confesses. It’s the worst three words he’s ever said in his life. “Or, at least, I was meant to fully turn into an MT. Cor rescued me from Niflheim when the cloning process was in its earliest phase – basically, when I was a baby. I… never told you or any of the guys about this because… well… Lucis and Niflheim don’t exactly have the best relationship, do they?” he chuckles even if it’s not funny at all. “The second thing I want to say is that I  _really_ like you, but I understand that I can’t actually be with you because of this and because I wasn’t really born to rule a country. That’s all I gotta say, I think.” 

Noctis keeps staring at him, wide-eyed. “You…” 

Prompto gulps. It’s fine. He’s prepared of the hatred that might come. 

Noctis puts his hand on top of his and leans in to kiss him. 

Okay so he wasn’t prepared for this. 

He’s too stunned to kiss back, so Noctis pulls away. “Prompto,” he breathes out, like he can’t find any words and his name is the only thing that he can say.  

“I…” Prompto gives him a nervous smile. “I’m taking this as a sign you don’t hate me?” 

“O-of course I don’t hate you,” he punches him in the shoulder, lightly. “I… Prompto. I don’t know what to say. I… I’m glad you trusted me with this. But…” 

Oh no. 

“This really doesn’t change anything between us,” he looks at Prompto, squeezing his hand. His thumb brushes the barcode, and Prompto shivers a little. “You’re still Prompto. You’re still my best friend.” 

He lets out a huge breath, relief crashing down on him. He rests his forehead against Noctis’. “Oh, gosh. I’m so glad you said that.” He separates himself again, “What about the other thing? The part where I like you a lot?” 

For someone who had just kissed him, Noctis sure gets embarrassed a lot. “I… like you too. I want to be with you.” 

Prompto smiles a little. “But… I don’t know how to rule a country, or how to support you in your royal duties.” 

“Just stand by me,” Noctis replies. “We’ll learn together.” 

It kind of hits Prompto all at once that Noctis doesn’t hate him, still thinks he’s Prompto, and actually likes him back. He desperately cups his face on his hands and kisses him, and Noctis kisses back, as eager as he is. 

He’ll tell his other two friends after this, but for now, he’s going to bask himself in this happiness and not leave until a few good hours have passed. 

  

  

  

  

* * *

 

  

  

 **ADOPTING PROCESS: Who is this**  

Cor steps into his lounge in the afternoon after getting a break from work. Prompto is fast asleep on the sofa, Prince Noctis on top of him, and somehow they’re still fitting together perfectly. Aranea is sitting on the other sofa, watching TV. She pauses her show once she notices him staring at them. 

He points at Prince Noctis. “I didn’t adopt him, did I?” 

“Nope,” she answers. “Your only kid is still Prompto.” 

“Then why is he asleep on my sofa?” 

“I dunno,” Aranea smirks. “But you gotta get used to him. I feel like we’re gonna see him around a lot more than usual.” 

Prompto stirs in his sleep. He turns around so now Noctis is sandwiched between the back of the sofa and Prompto, and they both continue sleeping peacefully. Cor is both happy and exasperated. 

_Kids._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis gets involved in the two hardest things to accomplish in life: getting Cor Leonis to like you, and being a good boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mmm. i wanted to write a little thing for this au again.

“Noct.”

Noctis puts the blankets closer to himself. Maybe if he stays still enough, no one will notice he’s actually awake and wide-eyed underneath the blankets. Someone pokes at him with their finger harshly. That’s definitely Gladio, because Ignis isn’t _that_ aggressive. Sometimes.

“ _Highness_ ,” Noctis sweats underneath his blankets. Why are they being like this? Isn’t it illegal to bother the prince on his nap? “I know you are not asleep.”

Noctis doesn’t reply. My gods, why are his two best friends the most stubborn people alive?

“It’s bad to sleep with a suit on, Noct,” Gladio says, laughing. “Iggy’s gonna murder ya if that thing has wrinkles on it when you get out of bed.”

Noctis finally throws the blankets off his bed. “What do you want?”

“You have to go to your dinner with the Marshal,” Ignis reminds him like Noctis hasn’t been thinking about it the entire _week_. “You might not want to be late on that one.”

Noctis pales, thinking about what Cor Leonis might do to him if he dared to show up late to his house. It’s not like he _wants_ to show up late to it, he’s just hecking terrified because well, it’s Cor the Immortal. Cor Leonis. The Marshal. And he’s kind of dating his son. Gods, he hasn’t even _thought_ about what Aranea will do — he’s friends with Aranea, yeah, but Prompto is her _brother_. She would straight up kill Noctis if he dared to hurt Prompto.

Not that Noctis would ever hurt Prompto, gods _no_ , but still, Aranea could wipe Noctis’ ass in seconds. Noctis was really well trained, alright, he could probably put up a good fight, it’s just that Aranea’s really intimidating and Noctis doesn’t want to be on her bad side. And gods forbid he ever ends up on _Cor’s_ bad side. He won’t walk alive out of that one. What did Cor even think about him? Oh _gods_ Cor had fucking seen him shit his pants when he was a toddler. Cor had seen every single thing Noctis had done as a kid and as a rebellious teenager. He probably _hates_ him.

“Earth to Noct,” Gladio snaps his fingers in front of him. “You still with us here?”

“Today I die,” Noctis breathes out, sitting up. “Please prepare my funeral appropriately.”

Ignis gives him a look.

“I want good food.”

“Why would you want good food if you are going to be dead?” Ignis reasons with him. “You are speaking nonsense. Do us a favor and please get out of bed.”

“Never,” Noctis flops back on the bed. “Tell the Marshal I died and tell Prompto I…”

Okay so he won’t tell Prompto he loves him because they’ve been dating for like, a _week_ , and things are a bit awkward if he’s being honest. Prompto’s been his best friend for too long, so Noctis has been a… bit of a crap boyfriend, if he’s being even more honest. It’s just. It seems to be like his brain is not processing the fact he can kiss Prompto now, or hold his hand, because he kind of… _keeps doing the same stuff as always_. He thinks about how much he wants to kiss him, but instead of kissing him he hits his shoulder playfully, and it takes him ten minutes to realize he could’ve fucking kissed him. Noctis has ruined way too many moods by accidentally being too friendly instead of romantic.

So yeah. Thinking about the L-word right _now_ is going to be horrible for his poor brain, so maybe he should’ve rephrased that sentence.

Noctis now realizes he’s been silent for too long.

Ignis shakes his head fondly. “Please, avoid thinking about how you feel about your boyfriend and get going, will you?”

“ _Uuuuuuuuugggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh_ ,” Noctis says, eloquently.

But eventually, Gladio pulls him up to his feet, so Noctis has really no choice but to get going, even if he’s panicking and his head is racing with unnecessary thoughts about how he feels. Those kind of thoughts never got him anywhere in his life.

Ignis and Gladio drive him to Prompto’s place, which is probably the best thing anyone could ever do for Noctis, because he was really going to lose his mind if he drove by himself to such a terrifying place with no backup to protect him.

Still, Noctis loses a little his mind by googling _How to be a good boyfriend_ , and… is it helpful? Probably. It’s actually not that helpful. It says he should be more open about his feelings (how horrifying), express his affection in a physical way ( _that’s so scary what the heck—_ ) and to be sweet and caring (he’s caring, _right_?). He’s so immersed in the articles that he doesn’t notice them arriving to the most terrifying place on earth: the Leonis residence.

“What hour should we pick you up?” Ignis asks.

Noctis shrugs. “I… I’ll text you,” he manages. His nerves are going to eat him alive, he can tell. “Thank you guys for coming with me.”

Ignis nods. Gladio grins.

“Be more confident in yourself, alright?” Gladio says, softly. “You ain’t half bad, Noct. The Marshal won’t kill you.”

“That’s what _you_ think,” Noctis half-whispers, because Cor the Immortal probably has super-hearing. He smiles a little. “Thank you, Gladio.”

And then he’s left all alone in front of the Leonis household, ready to be swallowed by the floor, never to be seen again.

Yet, he rings the doorbell, and the next ten seconds are the worst seconds of his life until someone opens the door. He hopes until the last second that it’s going to be Prompto, only to be met with Cor, staring down at him like Noctis is the reason he has to pay so many taxes.

(He probably is, to be honest.)

“Marshal, sir,” Noctis squeaks out, hating himself so much for being so easily scared. He extends out his hand. “It’s, uh… it is…”

Cor looks down at his hand, extending his own, and shaking it. Noctis keeps shaking for an uncomfortable amount of time, not knowing what to say.

“It’s an honor to be invited to eat with you,” Noctis says, finally finishing the handshake and letting go of his hand. Cor raises an eyebrow.

“Nice suit, kid,” he says, gesturing to Noctis’ outfit. “Come on in.”

Okay, stage one cleared: he’s in. Noctis is suddenly beyond glad his black suit has no wrinkles on it because it impressed Cor, apparently, but now he finds Aranea waiting on the lounge. Oh my gods. He’s going to die.

“Hey, prince,” Aranea says, waving. “You’re looking good.”

Noctis smiles a little, relieved. Stage two cleared: Aranea isn’t going to dropkick him.

“Thank you,” and then, hurriedly, he adds: “Y-you too.”

Aranea is pretty much dressed like always, so it’s not really something to compliment, but he said ‘y-you too’ as a reflex, so. The compliment is done. That earns him a smile from Aranea, so he didn’t fuck up too much.

Where is his boyfriend, though?

“Where’s Prompto?” he finally asks. Cor levels him with a look and Noctis wishes he could eat his words.

“I’m here!” his boyfriend comes down the stairs, dressed… really normal. Very casual. Jeans and a flannel. Okay, now Noctis feels a bit ridiculous for wearing a suit. “Oh, wow, Noct! You look pretty cool!”

“You think so?” he grins up at Prompto, who hurries to greet him and—

Oh boy. He stops in front of Noctis, looking scared. Is he supposed to kiss him? Do they have to kiss in front of his family? What’s the god damn protocol for this? They end up in an awkward mess where Noctis leans in, Prompto leans in, but he dodges his lips and goes in for a short hug.

Cor seems pleased. Aranea is cracking up. Prompto looks embarrassed but nonetheless happy. This… is a winning situation, at least.

* * *

 

This is the worst day of Noctis’ life.

That’s an exaggeration. It’s not that bad. The food is delicious, and he says this to Cor, who nods and says, “It’s got a secret ingredient.”

“Love?” Noctis asks.

“No, cheddar cheese,” Cor replies like it’s obvious. It makes Prompto and Aranea laugh, so Noctis decides to laugh too. The thing _is_ …

Noctis has _seen_ movies where the dad interviews the boyfriend like, ‘What are your intentions with my child?’ ‘What do you plan to do in the future?’ but those kind of questions will kind of fall flat here. Cor _knows_ what’s he’s going to do in the future, everybody _does_ , and his intentions with Prompto are kind of obvious. He wants to make him happy.

“Oh,” Noctis replies after a second. “It’s a great ingredient.”

Silence. Noctis shares a look with Prompto, who’s sitting next to him, trying to communicate his secret call for help, and also communicate him he’s going to try to be a better boyfriend from now on. It’s a lot to communicate in one stare, so Prompto looks away and keeps eating.

Aranea sighs. “Alright, Marshal, spit it out.  What’s your deal with our prince?”

Gods. That was… brutal. Noctis wants to hold his breath, but instead, he sits up straighter and pays attention. Noctis _is_ the prince. He once had to make eye contact with Queen Sylva as she explained to him the rules and the things Tenebrae demanded to Lucis to follow without blinking even once, so this should be easy. Emphasis on ‘should.’ Cor the Immortal is a bit more intimidating than Queen Sylva. Just a bit, though.

“I don’t have any deals with His Highness,” Cor explains easily.

How does he look so calm and collected? Noctis should be taking notes for the next time he has a public speech.

“Bull _shit_ ,” Aranea groans. “You’ve been purposely making it uncomfortable for him.”

“Is this about me?” Prompto asks, and Noctis believes for one second that Prompto has a death wish for talking to _freaking **Cor the Immortal**_ like that, until he remembers Prompto is his son. He’s probably not fazed by Cor anymore. “Are you making Noct uncomfortable to prove something to me?”

“Not at all,” Cor leans back. “This is just how I am.”

Aranea gives him a long look. Prompto mirrors the expression with so much accuracy that Noctis realizes they really were raised at the same time.

“Fine,” he gives in, surprisingly. “I want to make sure the prince is not just fooling around with Prompto.”

“Aw, _daaad_ ,” Prompto says, reaching over to put his hand over Cor’s. “Of course Noct’s not fooling around! He’s my best friend!”

“Yeah, uh…” Come on, Noctis. You’re the prince. You bullshitted your way through those interviews. You can do this.

(Okay, so he didn’t bullshit that, he really is in love with Prompto.)

“I want to make him happy, sir,” Noctis confesses. “For as long as he lets me.”

Was that too much? That was probably too much. He looks over to Prompto, who’s blushing like mad, and gives him a nervous smile, like, ‘hey, what I said wasn’t bad, right?’ Prompto replies with an endearing smile of his own, so Noctis considers this as another win.

“I believe you,” Cor says simply, but Noctis believes he can see a happy glint in his eyes. Believes. He’s not really sure. Cor is an enigmatic man, alright. “So, you’re enjoying the food?”

Was that all it took? Was Noctis really this scared when he could’ve won the Marshal over in such easy words? Now he feels really stupid.

“Yeah, it’s pretty good,” Noctis smiles, “Oh, and before I forget: you guys are all invited to dinner with my dad.”

Prompto chokes on his food. He starts drinking his coca-cola quickly. “ _What_?” He stares at him, wide-eyed. “I haven’t even spoken to your dad about—y’know, the whole faking thing?”

“Now’s a good time to have us all catch up, then,” Noctis grins a little. “You guys coming?”

“Of course we are,” Aranea gives one last look at Prompto who still looks like he’s dying. “You don’t decline a dinner with the king, do you?”

“I could, but I don’t think he’d be pleased,” Cor replies, shrugging. “His Majesty would never let it go if I skipped dinner.”

 Suddenly, Noctis is reminded Cor knows his dad from back when he was a prince. That’s weird. It’s weird to think of his dad doing the same stupid things Noctis is doing right now. So he asks,  “How was my dad when he was younger?”

Cor stares at him, something like amusement coming over his features. “Did he not tell you?”

“He kinda just told me the best stories and made himself look a lot cooler than he probably was,” Noctis chuckles. “I’m beginning to think that wasn’t all true.”

“You’re right, he made a fool out of himself way too many times,” Cor replies. “He was a lot like you. Did he ever tell you how he won over your mother?”

Noctis shakes his head. Prompto leans in to squeeze his hand a little — the mention of his mother doesn’t pain him anymore, but he still appreciates the gesture. Now, does he keep holding his hand?  Does he let go? Does he kiss his hand? What the _fuck_ are boyfriends supposed to do?  Noctis panics internally but decides to just keep holding his hand. Prompto looks content with this, so, that’s fine.

That’s fine. Yeah. Totally not panicking.

“Well, he tried to ask her out in the most extravagant way possible: holding up a sign and bringing her roses. Didn’t work out as he realized he couldn’t hold a big sign and roses at the same time. So he called _us_ —Cid, Clarus, Weskham, me— to hold up the sign. Didn’t work either. I stumbled, the sign fell with me, Regis was shocked so he dropped his roses and ran over to us, picked me up, and once he realized I was fine he realized his roses were all dirty now. You should’ve seen his _face_ ,” and Cor looks like he’s laughing. Oh my gods. What. “Somehow your mom was charmed anyway.”

“Glad she was,” Noctis replies, laughing. “You know? He had told me a different version where he asked her out perfectly and it went smoothly.”

“Lies,” Cor says. “Your dad is a liar.”

Aranea laughs. “Don’t you work for him?”

“I’m rebelling against the government.”

Prompto bursts out laughing, and the dinner only gets better after that. Who knew his father was such a rebellious teenager?

As the night comes to an end, Prompto walks him out after he says goodbye to Cor and Aranea, (and Cor _shakes his hand. His. Hand. He earned the **Respect**_ ) and this is where Noctis should work to be a better boyfriend again. Prompto is leaning against the doorframe, looking so beautiful, and Noctis realizes: he can totally kiss him.

So smoothly (not), he leans in, cups Prompto’s cheek, and kisses him. Prompto holds his breath before relaxing against him and kissing back. Yeah, this is good. Why doesn’t he do this more often? Why is he such a dumbass all the time? He breaks up, keeping Prompto in place, and gods he’s gorgeous. He’s feeling really sappy all of a sudden.

Didn’t the article say to be more open about his feelings?

“You…” Noctis swallows. “You look good.”

Prompto snorts. “Yeah, you too, idiot.” He smiles at him, fondly, and pecks him again. “See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you,” Noctis steps back to find Aranea laughing and Cor looking like he’s going to murder Noctis _right now_.

Noctis hurries the fuck out, closing the door behind him, and immediately ringing Ignis: “ ** _Please come pick me up before the Marshal murders me_.** ”

* * *

 

Thirty-minutes into their date, Noctis asks, “Am I a bad boyfriend?”

Prompto looks up. “Why are you asking that?”

“Is that a _yes_?”

“No, it isn’t,” he hurries to clarify. “Why would you think you’re a bad boyfriend?”

“Articles say I should be more romantic and expressive,” Noctis shrugs. “I’m neither of those.”

“No, but you’re _Noct_ ,” Prompto says as if that’s supposed to be better. “You’re my best friend and you being you is what makes me l—like you, you know?”

What was _that_ hesitation? Noctis decides to not look into it. He squeezes Prompto’s hand, proceeding to interlace their fingers together. Prompto seems happy that he’s doing that.

“Still, doesn’t mean I _shouldn’t_ try.”

Prompto smiles a little. “I mean, be my guest. I’ll still call you _dude_ after we make out!”

Noctis snorts loudly. “Gods, you… you really do that.” He smiles back at Prompto. “I’m glad I’m not as awful as I thought.”

“Yeah, you should know better than that,” he does a little stop. Then, he says, “still, if you wanna be romantic, then… uh… that’s… cool too, totally!”

He smirks. He puts his arm around Prompto and brings him for a kiss. “Was this romantic enough for you?”

Prompto shrugs. “If you think kissing is as romantic as someone can get then buddy, I got news for you.”

Noctis can’t ask him to explain that, because he’s being pulled in for another kiss, and _goddamnit_ this is romantic.

* * *

 

Noctis sees himself two weeks ago in Prompto’s terrified stare when he’s about to walk in the Citadel, Aranea and Cor by his side.

“You know it’s just my dad,” Noctis says. “You’ve seen him before.”

“On the _TV_. **_Once_**.” Prompto gulps. “He’s the King!”

“So?” Noctis gestures to Cor. “Your dad is the Marshal. I was terrified too. But I ended up being okay.”

Cor gives him a look. “You’re okay _for now_.”

Noctis laughs a little, because that must’ve been a joke. Cor doesn’t laugh back. Noctis ignores it and keeps talking to Prompto. “Point is, he’s gonna like you. He already does.”

“How do you know?”

“I’ve talked to him about you for over five years. He knows enough.”

Prompto grins. “ _Awww_. You talk about me! That’s _cute_!”

“We’re dating — of course I talk about you,” Noctis replies, pointedly ignoring the fact he’s been talking non-stop about Prompto even before they were dating.

“Yeah, I know, but still.” He takes a deep breath. “At least he won’t hate me too much.”

Prompto walks with him, holding his hand, so Noctis does his best to squeeze back and let him know he’s here to support him in whatever irrational fear he might have over his dad. Really, his dad is great. Wouldn’t hurt anybody unless he had to, and Prompto would never give him a reason to. He’s actually looking forward to this dinner now.

* * *

 

“This dinner is delicious, Your Majesty,” Prompto says, and for the first time in his life, Noctis is seeing him eat slowly and with calm. “Thank you so much.”

“It is my pleasure,” his dad replies with a gentle smile. “Prompto, my boy, tell me — why did I not know about you dating my son before?”

“W- _well_ ,” Prompto scratches his head. “Uh, we… weren’t really dating back then!”

His dad looks confused. Noctis swallows his food: this is the talk they should’ve had a week ago, probably, but Noctis kind of… forgot.

“It was an act,” Noctis explains. “I mean, it really _wasn’t_ , but. We weren’t officially together.”

“What about the interviews?”

“A rumor came out, and to get people to leave it alone we pretended to be dating,” he continues, “but we weren’t.”

“So… you are not together.”

“We are _now_ ,” Prompto clarifies. “Just. Weren’t together when we pretended to be.”

“Well,” his dad makes a small pause. “You kids sure are a bit complicated, are you not?”

Cor chuckles, “A headache is what they are.”

“Hey!” Prompto pouts. “I’m not a headache.”

“Yeah, neither am I,” Noctis protests. “I’m a delight to have around.”

“Now let’s not go that far,” Aranea intervenes. “You’re _okay_ to have around.”

That gets his dad _and_ Cor to laugh. The betrayal. Still, Noctis is having fun. It’s pleasant to see Prompto and his dad talking, because suddenly his dad asked him about photography, and it’s like all hesitation flew away from Prompto. He’s gesticulating wildly about what type of camera is the _best_ and nudging Noctis to put his own inputs (which mostly go from “yes that’s true” to “yes you’re right”) and suddenly his dad laughs again.

“You are such a joyous soul,” he says. “It is wonderful that you are officially part of the family.”

Prompto looks like he’s about to combust. His eyes shine, and then he ducks his head, laughing softly to himself. Cor looks endeared, which is a terrifying look on the Marshal, but also a good one to see. Aranea is grinning.

“You all hear that?” Aranea says, joyfully,  “I’m royalty. Fuck you, Noctis.”

His dad laughs so hard Noctis can see tears forming on his eyes. _The betrayal_.

Prompto laughs a little, “Thank you, Your Majesty. It’s an honor.”

“I mean, I’ve kinda considered you family for a long time now,” Noctis confesses, trying to come off as uninterested and totally smooth but failing. “But I suppose it’s official now since my dad has said it.”

Prompto grins at him, before grabbing Noct by his shoulders and giving him a strong one sided hug. It’s a bit hard to hug when you’re sitting next to each other eating.

“I was expecting to be family already,” Cor says. “After one too many times getting me out of a concert, you’d expect to be considered family.”

His dad’s eyes widen as he processes Cor’s words. “Concerts.”

“Yeah, remember that?”

“How could I forget the _headaches_ you caused me?”

“How much of a troublemaker was he actually, Your Majesty?” Prompto asks excitedly. “I watched a few videos, but it’s probably nothing compared to the real thing.”

“Prompto, my dear, you have _no_ idea. You mentioned videos? Are they up?”

“Yup,” Noctis says. “All of them on YouTube. Wanna watch?”

“YouTube?”

“You’ll see, dad.”

* * *

 

This is how he ends up sprawled on the sofa, Prompto right next to him, both of them doing their best to try lie down and fit on the sofa. Luckily for them it’s a big one. The big screen in front of them is playing a video of a concert.

“Pay attention now,” his dad says, pointing at the screen, “do you all see that? In the back, the silhouettes moving around?”

“I do,” Aranea says. She grimaces. “Seems like shit is going down back there.”

“It is,” his dad replies, giving Cor a quick glare. “This man to my right was giving us hell.”

Cor shrugs.

A second later, in the video, the band is abruptly interrupted by a kid (Cor) coming backstage on the scenario, but he doesn’t last much: he’s tackled by someone on the ground, followed by three other people grabbing him to keep him down.

“That tackle _hurt_ ,” Cor complains to his dad. “I can feel it in my bones still.”

“Gods, Cor. It was not that bad.”

“My ribs were _crushed_ by you, Weskham, Clarus, and Cid. It _was_ that bad, sir.”

“It was just a little push,” his dad rectifies again, and Noctis has to hold back a laugh. “We got into an awful problem after that. Cor was prohibited from entering any stages ever again.”

Noctis sees in the video as his dad, looking incredibly younger and an awful lot like him, grins and grabs the microphone. “ _My apologies for my friend. It will not happen again!_ ” and then, lowly, when he was a bit away from the mic: “ _Cor, you little sh—_ ”

“You did not have to drag me by my ear, sir,” Cor complains. Prompto laughs at that statement.

“His Majesty grabbed you by your _ear_?” Prompto asks, incredulous. “Is there footage of that?”

“I hope there is,” his dad answers, sighing. “He was a tough nut. I _had_ to drag him by the ear. Do you know how many times I had to testify that he was indeed part of the Kingsglaive?”

“It was only twenty times.”

“Twenty times!” His dad exclaims back. “I was _the prince!_ I got scolded protecting _him_!”

“Well, with all due respect: sucks to be you, sir.”

His dad laughs again. He scrolls through the recommended videos and clicks another one. “Oh, I remember this one. Prompto, Noct, you will not believe this one.”

Prompto is laughing already, and hearing him laugh while he’s holding him so closely makes Noctis suddenly feel warm, so he brings Prompto impossibly closer and once Cor isn’t looking, he kisses him briefly.

Prompto smiles against his lips. “What was that for?”

“Just felt like doing it,” he curls his hand around Prompto’s waist. “C’mon, let’s keep watching videos.”

* * *

 

“Am I good boyfriend?”

Prompto turns around, his back facing Noctis. “Go back to sleep, Noct,” he says, sleepily.

“But am I—”

“Yes, you’re a good boyfriend,” Prompto groans. “You’re the best boyfriend and I love you. Goodnight.”

Prompto falls asleep right after that. Noctis stares at his back, wide-eyed. He _what_.

“You what?” Noctis nudges him. “Prompto, wake up. I gotta tell you I love you too.”

Prompto is _snoring_.

“ _PROMPTO_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was fluff ooc nonsense but like. i just wanted to wrap things up with this, i guess?? it was too fun to write haha even if the characters were not ic at all but i kinda just need happy noct and happy regis for once
> 
>  
> 
> [tumblr](http://crosspolination.tumblr.com/)  
> [twitter](http://twitter.com/joshriku/)  
> 

**Author's Note:**

> -cor totally rescued both prompto and aranea in this au at the same time so they grew up together dont @ me  
> \- igotta wake up in 4 hours. why did i do this
> 
> [tumblr](http://crosspolination.tumblr.com/)  
> [twitter](http://twitter.com/joshriku/)  
> 


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